Congratulations to the 20 ElectriCities member utilities that received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2024:
- Bamberg Board of Public Works (S.C.)
- City of Albemarle, N.C.
- City of Elizabeth City, N.C.
- City of Kinston, N.C.
- City of Lumberton, N.C.
- City of Monroe, N.C.
- City of New Bern, N.C.
- City of Newberry, S.C.
- City of Rocky Mount, N.C.
- Greenville Utilities Commission (N.C.)
- Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works (S.C.)
- Martinsville Electric Department (Va.)
- New River Light & Power (N.C.)
- Town of Apex, N.C.
- Town of Clayton, N.C.
- Town of Cornelius, N.C.
- Town of Front Royal, Va.
- Town of Granite Falls, N.C.
- Town of Tarboro, N.C.
- Town of Wake Forest, N.C.
Each earned a Certificate of Excellence in Reliability from the American Public Power Association (APPA).
“Our member utilities work tirelessly to keep the lights on in their communities through any storm, challenge, or natural disaster,” said Sherri Callery, Manager of Grid Innovation at ElectriCities. “We congratulate these utilities and commend them for their enduring dedication to maintaining safe and reliable electric service.”
Honorees have been tracking their power outage and restoration data through APPA’s eReliability Tracker. Using the web-based subscription service—a benefit for most ElectriCities members—utilities can collect, categorize, and summarize outage and restoration data and run reports throughout the year.
Once a year, APPA’s Reliability Team compares this data to national statistics that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) tracks for all types of electric utilities. APPA awards Certificates of Excellence in Reliability to those utilities that have a System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) in the top 25% of utilities nationally.
“Year after year, data consistently demonstrate public power utilities provide highly reliable service,” said APPA Director of Research and Development Paul Zummo. “The utilities recognized here are truly elite when it comes to keeping the lights on. Their communities should be proud of the hard work and dedication of their local power providers as they earn this truly deserved recognition.”
Public power customers are without power for less than half the amount of time customers of other power providers are, according to national averages reported to the EIA. North Carolina’s public power customers fare even better, with outages lasting only a third as long as customers of other providers.
“Monitoring outage data provides both strategic and practical insights,” Sherri said. “It enables you to evaluate grid performance, identify opportunities for enhancement, and highlight exceptional reliability as a primary competitive advantage public power utilities provide.”
If you’re an ElectriCities member interested in tracking your utility’s reliability, please contact Sherri Callery.
See the national list of 2024 Certificate of Excellence in Reliability recipients at www.PublicPower.org. For a list of awards ElectriCities member utilities have won, visit the Awards and Accolades page on the ElectriCities website.